Q: Why am I not allowed to trade my premium trip with Open Time (premium or straight pay) and retain my original premium?
The Company assigns premium to trips in Open Time based on the report (AM or PM), the length of days, and the number of available Reserves for coverage.
For example, on a certain day they may need additional coverage in the morning due to fewer AM Reserves, so they assign a premium to morning trips. If a Flight Attendant picks up a morning trip with premium and then trades with an afternoon trip, the premium doesn’t follow because CS doesn’t need additional coverage in the afternoon.
Essentially, CS is strategic about assigning premium based on coverage – and if a Flight Attendant was able to trade into any trip and retain the premium, it doesn’t solve the issue CS was addressing with the premium pay.
The Company was unwilling to allow trading premium trips with open time and retaining the premium for this reason.